Kruise Leeming ready to haunt old club Leeds as Wigan chase more glory
KRUISE Leeming is ready to show the lessons he learned in adversity by haunting his old club.
The Wigan hooker thrived during his time at Leeds, earning him a move to NRL side Gold Coast Titans.
But sympathy may be thin on the ground when he takes to the field today as the Warriors look to stay top after another round of fixtures.
And the way he reacted to an ankle injury that kept him out for more than a month means he is looking at things differently.
Leeming, who played 80 minutes of Tuesday’s win over Leigh – five days after coming back against Huddersfield, said: “Sometimes in life, it’s better to be thrown in at the deep end.
“I’m enjoying everything at the minute. I’m enjoying Wigan, I’m enjoying being around the lads.
“And the time I had off through injury, I enjoyed that in different ways. Looking at the game through a different lens.
“I’d have been mad to have been down and moping around when I’ve got Brad O’Neill there, who’s got a season-ending injury and Willie Isa with a season-ending injury.
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“There’s always someone doing it worse than you are and you’ve got to look on the bright side. I learned during my time out.”
Leeming heads back to Headingley to face the club he won the Challenge Cup with in 2020 – one he suddenly left midway through last season.
Like his recent injury absence, he is philosophical about his departure for Australia and Gold Coast.
But he knows what wearing a Rhinos shirt comes with, a weight of history.
The 28-year-old – who was born in the African nation of Eswatini but raised in Halifax – added: “I’m going back to my old stomping ground but it’s part of professional sport, you move on and go to different places. You see people you used to be close with.
“In any walk of life, different things happen that push you to different areas. You’ve just got to go with the wind.
“But Leeds is a massive club. The history there is huge and they’re a great team.
“It’s exactly the same as here. It’s a prestigious club with a lot of history and you want to do the shirt proud.
“But I’m a Wigan player now and I’m enjoying my time here.”